Lucky Stars
by Universal Hope
Summary: Lucy is on a mission by herself, but some unforeseeable circumstances leave her in a very bad situation. Wounded with no chance of back up, she can only depend on Loke to help her survive. Can she summon the strength to fight?
1. A Little Bad Information

A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first FT fanfiction, I read up all the manga in about a two week span so I'm pretty sure details are correct- they're fresh at least . If you notice anything please inform me. I'll hopefully be updating this pretty soon. I want to get it all out before November because I'm going to participate in nanowrimo. So read and enjoy! Thanks!

Chapter One: A Little Bad Information

It was quiet and Miss Lucy Heartfilia had not experienced such a thing in months. Reluctantly, she realized that being Natsu, Happy, Erza, and Gray's teammate for such a short time had probably forever distorted her perception on a good many things: volume and normality being high on the list. Fairy Tail, the guild of mages she belonged to, had also been the best thing to happen to her life- ever. She had family (that actually cared about her) and people who could help her become the best celestial mage she could be because they wanted to be the best mage in their respective areas and understood. Not to mention she'd return the favor for any of her family at the drop of a hat. Because of that she was on her own this week, and _not_ part of Fairy Tails strongest team. Which sucked just a little bit.

'_But I could never ask Natsu to ignore a rumor on the whereabouts of Igneel. Although, he's a freakin' huge fire dragon; it should probably be easier to find him. If I were to see a gigantic dragon I think I'd be sure about it at least. And I'm very glad that Gray and Juvia were requested for such a high level mission, but did it have to be the same week Erza decides to go visit Gerard? I have rent soon! As much as they crash at my place they could at least consider my finances a little!' _

She rolled her eyes at her inner antics and kicked a rock down the road to distract herself. It hadn't been a long trip, three hours by foot, but being on her own made her antsy. She could practically feel the empty spaces walking along beside her.

'_The first time in forever that we wouldn't have to take a vehicle and Natsu isn't here. Oh well, I'll have to tease him about it later, he's probably sprawled across the seat of the train trying not to throw up right now.'_

Giggling, Lucy patted her celestial keys creating a jaunty little walking tune as she crested a hill. A relatively short distance away she could see the town she was supposed to be assisting. There was a small group of guards at the main entrance and she could see smatterings of people wandering about. While she had the chance she glanced around. There was a pretty thick forest behind the village and it spread around the walls thinning out as it got closer to the main gate ending in just a couple trees on the hill with her.

'_Probably where the bandits are hiding out,' _she mused.

The mission page said there was a group of bandits that routinely attacked the town. Taking them out and helping the townspeople deliver them to the authorities in the next town over, an hour ride by cart, would earn her a whopping 200,000 jewels which would give her almost three month's rent on her small apartment.

'_Waaaay too good to pass up. I have to remember to thank Mirajane for holding onto this one; it's perfect!' _

With her target in sight she sat down on the roots of one of the closest trees to watch the village and have a snack and some water. It was really beautiful up this way and she was, only for a moment, sad that she'd have to interrupt the peaceful afternoon. Enjoying the sum streaming through the leaves, Lucy made sure she was good and rested, packed up her few supplies, made sure her trusty whip was attached at her hip, and grabbed her keys. She'd been pondering her best strategy for taking down the enemy and had come up with a couple good plans in the event of different situations but as she started to reattach them to her belt, the place she'd kept them since she'd first got them, she found herself sliding them into her pocket. An odd wind crept down her spine drawing shivers across her back and she looked again at the small town before her. It took a few minutes to shake off the sudden negativity, but she finally managed to shove it to the back of her mind, rent was calling after all.

The gate guards saw her approach and stood when she was about halfway there. She raised her hand to show the Fairy Tail insignia. It was supposed to help customers trust them, but to be safe she followed up with a friendly greeting and smile.

"Hello! I'm Lucy- the mage sent from Fairy Tail. I'll just need to talk to your headman about the bandits before I go after them!"

The guards glanced amongst each other, whispering back and forth before one ducked into the gate. She reached them a few minutes later as he was coming back through. He wasn't alone on the return trip. With him was a larger man, about 6'2'' and very broad in the shoulders, with a crew cut. He stepped in front of the others. Trying not to look as intimidated as she felt Lucy held her hand up again and essentially repeated herself for the newcomer.

"I'm Lucy, the mage who accepted your request for bandit removal. The advertisement wasn't specific on details and I'd like to ask your headman directly. I'm sorry about any inconvenience that might cause."

He eyed her and she realized she hadn't felt quite so judged in a long time, "You're a mage? What d' ya do? Ya don't look like a fighter t' me."

The guys behind him sniggered. Upset, she tried not to glare too fiercely at the men-she didn't want to risk saying something that could endanger her rent money- and instead turned her attention back to the larger man.

"Did your mother never teach you not to judge a book by its cover? Fairy Tail would never send a weak mage to rescue a village, so can you take me to the village leader or not?"

"I suppose we can take you to the boss. He'll set you straight." He pointed to a building in the center of the village, "His office is over there. Follow me."

With a quick motion to the guards Big Man had the gate opened for them and started to walk toward where he'd pointed. She followed as quickly as she could. Something was niggling at the edges of her subconscious but she couldn't put her finger on it. Looking around she once again saw what she'd seen from the hill, men milling around, shops- with broken windows and…blood on them? She gulped and frantically looked around, her breathing and heart rate spiking of their own volition.

'_No women or children either! Oh jeez this is bad-'_

Distracted by loud laughter as the gate closed behind them, she turned instinctively reaching for her pocket. It was just enough of a distraction that she didn't see Big Man until he was punching her in the face, and then only black.


	2. Leads to Bad Situations

A/N: To all who care here is the second chapter of Lucky Stars! Tartaros hasn't been discussed in the manga it just said it was the third major dark guild. All the symbols for it and Arlos are my invention. Thanks for reading (I had 70 hits the first night I uploaded chapter one, but only _one_ review from an awesome person under the moniker 'sunny' so Thank You Sunny you made my little authors heart happy!) and please review. Also, I re-uploaded this chapter because I noticed some errors. And I added a little bit more dialogue so I hope it's better. Thanks for your patience.

Chapter Two: Leads to Bad Situations

Noises were the first thing she remembered: shoes scuffing, clothes rustling, and her own heart beat softly thud-thudding in her chest. It took a moment for the pain in her face to register, but when it did it was a sharp reminder of her situation. Lucy tried to open her eyes. One was heavy but she managed to peek through it; the other eye was probably swollen shut, just attempting to open the organ made it throb. From what she could see she was in a wooden building, her hands were secured behind her, and there was a large desk in front of her. Trying not to whimper, she raised her head. In front of her was a tall, slender male with moss green hair and brown eyes. He was sitting behind the desk casually watching her awaken. If she hadn't been so scared she might have even called him attractive. Unfortunately, huge spikes of dark energy radiated off of him would have made a lesser person pee their pants. She just lowered her head in resignation. Pretty used to being held hostage, she already knew she needed to assess and build a plan. This time her team wouldn't be racing to her rescue.

'_So, I can't feel my whip, but I'm pretty sure my keys are jabbing into my thigh so they didn't find them, but I'm totally out matched right now. The bandits have a dark mage and I still don't know how many of them there are, the townspeople are dead, AND I don't get paid…It must be my lucky day…'_

Deciding to break the silence Lucy managed to groan, "Really good of you…to give me such a warm welcome."

The mage across from her pursed his lips and shook his head. "I do apologize for Dard's unseemly greeting." He stood, and came around the desk to stand before her. In response she pulled as far into the chair as she could, but it didn't deter him. A soft hand gently caressed her battered eye and down to her chin. "Such a lovely face… I'll have to have Dard executed for this. It's such a pity he doesn't know how to control himself. But what can you expect from lowly bandits? Until I came along and found their rag-tag camp this group of buffoons were pillaging a dried up town. My good deed for the year is to lead them on to much larger conquests."

"Your good deed was to help murder an entire town?"

Chuckling, he leaned back onto the desk, "Help? My dear, what misconceptions you have! No, no I did _all_ the murdering. After I stumbled onto the band of idiots outside I decided I could use some henchmen and a base of operations, and it's such a perfect location as I'm sure you've seen. But this town was broke from all the times it had been raided, so I really wasn't expecting another mage to come along, and most definitely not on a job."

She shrugged, "Just my good fortune they decided to lie about a hefty reward. I should have known it was too good to be true. And obviously they sent it before you met up with your new goons. So, can I at least know the name of my captor, or should I say my executioner?"

"Of course! Welcome, my fair lady, to Pervina Village. I am its lord, Arlos, at your service," he fell to one knee as he said it and pretended to kiss a hand (she assumed for dramatic effect) as hers were still behind her back. Confused, but willing to try acting along, she bowed her head.

"Lord Arlos? Err, my eye really hurts and I have a salve in the bag I had with me that would help with the swelling. Would it be ok…? Could I put it on before you tell me more?"

He chuckled _again_ as he rose back to standing.

"No, my dear, what do you take me for? A fool? You would have me untie you- a mage who has powers that I've yet to determine?"

"A girl can dream right? You know Fairy Tail will send someone when I don't return, right?" She watched, shocked, as a shadow suddenly leapt from his robes and across the floor. It stopped at her bag on the other side of the room and then carried it back to Arlos. "You use shadow magic?"

"Hmm," she distracted him from rooting through her things, "Oh yes, and what a wondrous magic it is, so incredibly multifunctional. Dispatching of the townsfolk with it was a quick task as will be taking care of the rescue team your guild master sends. Would you like a demonstration?"

Without waiting for a reply he sent his shadow racing under the door. Not even five minutes passed before it returned and curled back under his cloak. He put her bag to the side (up till then he had continued rooting through her things) to prepare for the 'demonstration' whatever it would amount to. She jumped when the door opened moments later. There were a few steps into the room and then the door shut again.

"Yeah boss? Ya called?"

Oh, that voice! She was startled as her chair magically whipped around to point at the door. And at the hulk who'd knocked her flat and given her the bruise gracing her face.

"Madam, this is Dard; Dard this is Miss Lucy."

"We already met boss. I told ya that stuff when I brought her to ya, remember?" Dard was the one looking confused now. Arlos seemed to like to have fun before getting rid of his prey, but Lucy could see where the conversation was heading. She bit her lip and looked away hoping it wouldn't be too messy.

"Yes Dard, you did inform me of 'that stuff' when you brought her in. The problem is that I don't like the way you handled yourself. You were violent with my guest before asking me permission. Your lack of control is disconcerting."

Lucy's danger senses were firing off like rockets. '_He's having fun right now, probably establishing dominance over the bandits and using me as an excuse to do it, but when he's done it's bye-bye Blondie! I've GOT to find a way out of this mess fast! If I can just get away I can find help at Fairy Tail to take this guy down and get justice for all the townspeople.'_

She squeezed her eyes shut, angry with herself for being so helpless. Before she could yell at herself anymore she was startled by a large wave of dark energy. _'Arlos must have finished berating Dard.'_

Lucy couldn't help but gasp as her head was yanked back toward the larger man by a cold tendril of power. "Madam, if you could _please _pay attention, I'll be demonstrating one aspect of my ability, the Shadow Arm, now. Dard you have been sentenced to execution, any last words?"

Tentacles of his shadow, she now noticed, were wrapped around Dard's feet stopping any escape. When Dard opened his mouth, though, it was to scream. Maybe a warning to his fellows? Or perhaps profanities at his murderer? She'd never know. What she did know was that the sight of the tentacle slithering into his mouth, cutting off his air flow, the way his face reddened into purple, as he fought an impossible enemy for a single life-saving breath until he collapsed would be in her nightmares for the rest of her life because the tentacle around her neck made sure she watched every gruesome moment. It gingerly tickled her collarbone as the scene finally ended and it was pulled back under Arlos' coat with the other shadow arms. Oddly, she felt a warm sting in her good eye, then moisture trickling down her cheek for the man in front of her. He'd caused a lot of pain, she was sure her eye wasn't the worst he'd done, but he- no one deserved that. Before she knew it she was crying, hot tears that left _her_ choked for air. _'That's me next, it had to be a warning, I can't think- what do I do? What do I DO?'_

"Pardon me, my dear, I'm going to fetch someone to clean this up. I'll leave you to ponder on what you've _learned_."

Hyperventilating wouldn't help, but it took a couple moments to calm down a reasonable degree. It was easier as soon as Arlos stepped out of the room. She breathed deeply a few times and looked at the bloated and distended face of the man she'd once seen as an enemy.

'_He thinks he can scare me into submission, well to bad for him! I can do this! ...I have too. For the both of us.'_

She lowered her head as though in acquiescence of her fate, in case he came back in, _'What do I _

_have-,'_an image, unbidden, sprang to life of Loke coming forth without her summoning him. '_Loke! If I can reach Loke…Can I do it? Am I strong enough to summon him without his key?'_

Glancing over at Dard she made up her mind to try.

Concentrating as hard as she could Lucy gingerly felt for the bonds she shared with her spirits until she finally came upon a chain of gold and warmth.

'_Loke, please! All those times you've said you love me I need you to prove it now or I'm…'_ She couldn't even finish the thought but she sent all her feelings of desperation across the bond willing him to hear her plea with all her might. And he did. He appeared in a quick flash and was instantly helping her with her bonds. But instantly wasn't quite fast enough. As her hands were being freed she heard voices approaching.

"Loke you're here on your own power? Right? We're going to need help on this one."

"Yes, Princess. And I will, by the way." Loke winked at her as she pulled the celestial keys from her pocket. She found Sagittarius' key just as the door slammed open. Loke, standing as regal as his constellation, held his hand up to Arlos as he entered.

"Stop where you are. You're about as bad as they come making my Princess cry and for that I'm going to have to hurt you now so she'll feel better."

While Loke made a good distraction of himself she took the initiative. "Open gate of the Archer, Sagittarius come forth!"

Another quick flash and Sagittarius was standing protectively in front of her as well. "Hello, hello! Mistress what do you require?"

"Sagittarius I need you to help us take out the bandits while Loke and I deal with this guy. We'll come provide you back up as soon as we can! I'm sorry, please stay as safe as possible!"

And Sagittarius wasted no time. Firing off his deadly arrows, he had the two men directly behind Arlos, who leapt aside when he saw the airborne weapons coming, and then the horse-man was out the door and off to find high ground to snipe from. "I don't have my whip Loke," Lucy continued, "but I'll do what I can. And be careful- this guy uses shadow magic-tentacle thingies!"

Loke nodded as he assumed his fighting stance, '_I'm glad Lucy. Maybe this time I can keep you out of the battle. Safe.'_

"Shadow-magic-tentacle thingies? You shouldn't speak so disrespectfully of a magic that is going to be the end of you little girl. Do you_ really_ think your pathetic celestial spirits have a chance of doing _me_ in? You have no clue who you're dealing with!" He burst into laughter and threw his cloak off as he stood. The underneath made her shiver in disgust. He was wearing a dark pair of pants, but his chest was exposed. Every inch of his visible body was covered in tattoos all done in red 'ink' but one. In the center was a pair of black, curling devils horns dripping with ink-blood. "This," he pointed at the black mark, "is the symbol of the Tartaros Guild, the last and greatest member of the Balam Alliance. And as a showing of our great power I'm going to make your celestial spirit watch as I destroy you and _bathe_ in your virgin blood. Then, to make it worse I'm going to keep all your pretty little keys for myself and torture them as I like."

Shadows exploded up from Arlos' form sweeping and darting in an eerie dance. Loke readied Regulus for imminent battle and he didn't have to wait long. Shadow tentacles darted across the wood floors, some after him and some after his mistress. He leaped onto the desk and moments later they followed him. Lucy, on her side of the room, was in the same predicament. She darted back and forth, jumped and rolled, but she couldn't find purchase to get back to Loke.

From his spot on the desk Loke raised his hand and yelled, "Lucy, your eyes! Lions Brilliance!"

The blinding glare lasted just long enough for her to run toward his voice. She was enough in synch with her strongest key-spirit to 'see' that one coming. When the light had dimmed a good amount she was able to open her eyes. Realizing she was closer to him than she'd thought, she dived behind the desk and frantically opened the small drawers. In the third drawer she found what she was looking for. Her whip was on top of a stack of papers that were intended for the real headman of the village. He'd never sign them now. She stood, resolve renewed. Loke was sending Regulus blasts at Arlos, who was countering with his tentacles. Neither male wanted to give an inch. She decided to give one for them. "Loke, be ready!"

Arlos sneered. "Oh look, the child has a toy. Against my magic it is nothing! You'll be dead before you finish the throw!"

At that she rolled into a crouch a few feet from Arlos and lashed out with her whip. It got him around the throat at the same time as one of his tentacles dove straight into her stomach. Loke was ready as well, however, and a full force Regulus Impact slammed into Arlos' head, twisting it impossibly to the side, the lion head glowing bright as day before it faded into nothing.

Arlos and Lucy both slumped and fell, one breathing their last.


	3. That Tend to Decline Rapidly

A/N: Thanks to the awesome folks who reviewed my story! Any constructive critiques are much appreciated. By the way, I re-edited the second chapter; no major differences just some flow and grammar corrections, but it does seem better to me. Not up to my crazy standards, le sigh, but better at least. On to the story! I hope no one hates where I cut it off. I love cliffhangers. Mwahahaha!

Chapter Three: That Tend to Decline Rapidly

The pain was blinding. A sharpened shadow should not be able to create such grievous damage, but the three inch wide slash in her lower abdomen disagreed. Loke kneeled over her, teeth grit, as he used his suit jacket to staunch the blood flow. He was also in charge of making sure she kept her eyes open and focused. By annoying her incessantly. But the pain was so bad that sleep sounded like a great escape and she knew being annoyed was a far better alternative to 'the great escape'. She knocked her head back against the wood floor, praying for relief.

"Please don't injure yourself any farther, I only have the two hands you see. And while I love the idea of having my hands all over you, the blood is a bit of a turn off."

She laughed, gasping really, through her teeth while electricity coursed across her stomach. "Didn't I tell you _not_ to make jokes Loke? …But really, are you saying I don't look good in red?"

Rolling his eyes, Loke took a deep breath. It was hard watching Lucy in pain at all, and much harder watching her laying on the floor possibly bleeding to death. '_If I go for help she probably wouldn't bleed out, but she'd be much closer to that possible outcome, and any help would be three hours coming. She'd need Little Wendy to close this wound, or Polyursica at least..._'

Instead of working that doozy of a problem, he focused on another. "Lucy, I have to say that when you set your mind to find trouble you do so with gusto. Now, how's your magic? Do you need to recall Sagittarius?"

She closed her eyes to concentrate and felt for the life force of The Archer. He wasn't far away and her magic still felt healthy so she sent him a twinge- a 'come back if you can make it' message. A few moments later, scrambling was heard on the roof.

Loke tensed, fearing enemies, not sure if he could fight _and_ hold her wound but it was Sagittarius who came rushing in. "Hello, hell-Mistress! You've been injured!"

The horse-man rushed to her other side only detouring quickly to be sure that Arlos was truly defeated. Loke nodded a greeting to his friend as an idea began forming. "Sagittarius, I'm going to have Lucy send you back to Spirit World. When you arrive find Virgo, tell her to collect as many first-aid supplies as she can fit in a bag and be ready to bring them when she's summoned."

The Archer nodded, "Please, Loke, take care. I shot a good many, but I couldn't be sure I got them all. Thankfully, I had surprise on my side and the majorities were caught unawares. Mistress, I won't let you down on this errand, I promise. Hello! Goodbye!" With that Lucy let her power return her friend to his home.

"How long sh-should I wait before summoning V-Virgo, Loke?"

He looked down at his mistress, trying not to let the worry show in his eyes. '_She's getting worse really fast. Weakening enough to stutter in such a short amount of time…,' _He gingerly squeezed his jacket. The wet squish it made did nothing to ease his worries. "Give it about five minutes, eh Princess? Virgo is fast but I want to make sure she has everything."

"Vir…go, quick like bunny…" she giggled, letting her head fall to the side and her eyes slide shut.

"Princess, you better open those peepers right now! I _cannot_ lose you!" He was panting, furious at her for some reason. Flinging his jacket away, he yanked off his shirt to press into her wound. He shook her, smacked her not-so-very-gently in the face until she groaned and cracked an eye open to glare at him.

"I was just, just resting my eyes." He could fee her eyes roving over his naked chest. "But if I'm gonna go, this is the way to go."

"Princess, how many times do I have to tell you…I love you; so stay with me and then you can have this view as often as you want!" He was sobbing now. Hopefully Virgo was ready because he needed her help now. He found the appropriate key and placed it in her palm. "Please call Virgo? Then I'll let you relax while we take care of you, okay?"

"Open gate of the Maiden, Virgo come forth!" It was faint, but she was holding Virgo's key so the magic worked. Virgo was kneeling next to him with a hefty bag of necessary materials before he knew it and she wasted no time setting to work. "How long has she been bleeding like this?"

Loke winced at the tone in the Maidens voice. "Ten to fifteen minutes? I know-I know, too long, but I couldn't leave her alone and I needed to make sure you had enough time to gather supplies before she called you out, otherwise she would've wasted magic that she really didn't need to waste."

Virgo's shoulders drooped and he realized her hands were shaking as she tried to slice off her Mistress's shirt. "I know how you feel Virgo; we all love her, but have faith okay? Together we can get her stable. You're here right? That means she's not too far gone." He gently removed the Maiden's hands and with as much care as possible he snipped Lucy's shirt in half and then pulled it off her body. Virgo, in the meantime, composed herself by pulling everything out of her bag. When the shirt was fully removed she took over, cleaning the wound.

"Loke, I need you to get the needle and thread it. My hands are still a little shaky. I've already disinfected it, so don't worry about that."

As Loke picked up the thread he felt eyes once again following him. Lucy was once again the culprit, but this time she wasn't feebly making jokes, she looked so _sad_. Sweat was beading on her forehead and her hands were clenched in the sides of her skirt because of the pain, but she wasn't complaining. In fact, he realized, her expression is the only thing out of place in the picture.

"L-Lucy? I said you could _relax_ not give up so get that look off your face. We're not going to let you down; I promise on my position as Leo the Lion that you'll be up and about in no time."

She nodded slowly but turned her head to look at the ceiling. "That needle is going to hurt. But not as much as what you said a few minutes ago…"

Appalled at the thought of hurting her, he handed Virgo the now completely threaded needle. "What are you talking about Princess? I haven't said anything." He moved to kneel by her head. "What did I do? I'll fix it- I'd never want to hurt you."

Taking her hand in one of his, he used the other to pet her hair out of her face and mop the sweat away with a moist towel that Virgo gave him. The wound was all clean and ready to be sutured. He was immensely grateful to his sister for being there all of a sudden. He'd never be able to get the needlework done if he had to watch Lucy hurt while he did it.

'_Now I just need to hold her and keep her distracted.'_ He squeezed her hand, so small in his own that for a moment he felt like he would crush it by accident.

"Please Luce? What did I do to hurt you?"

"You lied."

His face contorted in confusion. Lied? When? He quickly replayed their conversation in his mind, but couldn't find any discrepancies.

"You lied," she turned her face from his touch, "when you said you loved me. I know it's not true. Maybe as a key mistress, but not like you meant. Not intimately. Not like I want you to love me."

Shocked into silence, he could only stare as tears began to course into her pooled tresses.


End file.
